Faye

 

Home.

There was a lot of happiness and laughter in the Lafi house that afternoon.

As I hugged each of my family, blinded with tears, it hit me what Andrei had done. And I thought about what Soraya had said, about making sure he stuck around. It was what I wanted, more than anything I’d wanted before. He’d become my family.

Looking over, I saw he was watching me with a gentle kind of smile, Piper, and Soraya on either side of him. When our eyes met, he winked at me and I winked back.

I’m falling for you, I thought. And I need to tell you… I need you to stay with me, Andrei.

And I made a promise to myself that I would tell him how I felt as soon as I was able.

An hour later I was sitting with Kalea, while Dez held Leo on my other side. Andrei was teasing her, but Kalea was having none of it, simply gazing at him with serious blue eyes.

“She already has your icy glare, Piper,” Andrei intoned.

“You mean she can spot a fool a mile away?” Piper retorted. “Of course.”

The chatter around us was light and laughter-filled. We hadn’t talked much about what was happening this coming weekend and my chest filled with anxiety at the thought.

For a homecoming, it was bittersweet. There was still so much to do.

Frost was still on the loose and Mirois was still trying to take us down from the inside.

Balt had gone to the door and came back with Svetlana, who beamed when she saw us. “Oh, just the people I was hoping to see.” She bounced Tulila on her hip and Andrei reached for his niece. “Have I got some good information for you lot,” his sister said, handing Tuly over.

It turned out that Svetlana had gone to see Drax, ostensibly to visit and let him admire her baby, but really to talk Order business. When Andrei looked at Svetlana in horror, she shrugged.

“It was the perfect cover. I’m retired,” she retorted. “Not only that but thanks to your tip, he now has a pretty shrewd idea of who the traitors are.” Svetlana's words sunk in across the room. “The good news is that there are far less than I'd imagined. The bad news is that they are well-placed and some of the more dangerous agents.”

“Like Ivan,” Andrei said grimly.

“Yes,” Svetlana said, perching on the arm of the couch next to Andrei. “I also told Drax about what is happening this Sunday. He wanted me to extend the message that anyone who has knowledge of it needs to be working actively to stop it.” Her eyes flickered. “At any cost.”

“What are you talking about?” Isla asked, leaning forward.

Kai Weslark’s face was grim as he gazed over at me, brown hair falling into his eyes. “Something tells me you went on the run because you found out something dangerous regarding the TLO and the Shifters of Anubis.” His face twisted. “Believe me, I know the look.”

At that, I nodded and with a look from Andrei, I proceeded to summarize what had happened. This time, even with Keon and Talori in the room, I left nothing out.

After I’d finished, Keon and Talori looked at each other, then Talori proceeded to explain what we’d learned yesterday. They needed to be on HQ premises to get in and alter the burn order.

“Could you make it seem like it went out and it didn’t?” Piper asked, her brow furrowed.

“Possibly,” Keon said. “The problem is I haven’t seen it.”

“Would you need access to a specific computer or merely need to be in HQ, on their on-site servers?” she asked crisply and Keon gave her an impressed look.

“Just on-site,” he replied.

Piper stood up, thinking fast and her feet following suit. “We should have someone here in case the person gets caught.” She looked up at Soraya, then Talori. “I think it should be Talori who goes and Keon who stays. He's supposed to be in the Northeast. She'll be less suspicious and we can use family resources to get her out worst case scenario.”

Talori nodded and Keon gave her a sweet smile. “I can walk you through it remotely if you need help or get stuck. I’ll be there every step of the way.”

“Thanks, Keon,” Talori said.

“I get the need for a fallback, Piper, but we probably will only get one shot at this,” Andrei warned. “And if we get caught, who’s to say they won’t move it up?”

Piper gave him a hard look. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Yes,” Andrei said in a hard voice. “While a few of you go with Talori, the rest of us go take out Mirois.”

Piper shook her head. “That should be a last resort, Andrei. As far as we know, the other Heads still trust her. They will come to her aid and I don’t think we could take them all on. Remember, they are masters who’ve trained for years. Don’t let age fool you.”

Andrei looked incensed at that and I squeezed his arm, saying, “I agree with Piper.”

Andrei looked at me and I prepared myself for some comment about the Zimas always getting outdone by the Weslarks, but instead, he nodded. I almost laughed.

“It’s a good point,” Andrei conceded. “And honestly, I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Speaking of training,” Roy said slowly. “Mirois isn’t anywhere near HQ tomorrow afternoon. At least, as long as her schedule hasn’t changed... When I worked under her, she’d be in downtown LA overseeing the recruitment office. Then she does yoga.” We all looked at him and he shrugged. “What? With her, I had no choice but to memorize her schedule.”

“Talori, can you check that?” Piper asked, turning to her younger cousin. “Or Keon?”

They both pulled out their laptops and got to work, fingers flying over the keyboard. Meanwhile, everyone else was quiet, thinking hard and digesting what I’d told them. Kai was staring up at the ceiling, an arm around Isla, who had her arms clasped close to her waist and was biting her lip. Enele was glowering at his clenched fists, while Balt sat and watched Piper pace.

Soraya was whispering to Dez, while Svetlana and Andrei talked on the other side of me in Russian. Across from me, Kesari was sitting up very straight, her gold-green eyes lost in thought, and then I looked over to Roy, who looked as tired and frazzled as I felt.

My eyes flicked back to Kesari in question and he lifted a shoulder, his jaw setting. I took that to mean Kesari wouldn’t leave LA and I sighed.

Andrei turned to me as I snuggled closer to Kalea, taking comfort in her warmth. In return to his questioning look, I nodded at Kesari and he looked over at her.

“Right. There’s also the matter of who needs to leave the city,” Andrei said.

Kesari blinked and met his eyes. I saw her jaw set and Dez stirred next to me. “Kes…”

“I am not going anywhere,” she said coldly, her lilting voice fierce. “You think if I didn’t listen to Roy, I would listen to you?” She snorted. “Don’t waste your breath, Andrei.”

Andrei chuckled lightly, shaking his head. “So many stubborn people in this room.”

“And they could crown you king, big brother,” Svetlana said.

“I think Kesari should stay away from HQ, but I think she should remain in the city…” Piper said slowly. “We may need her expertise with the golden bullet and the other cures.”

“That’s it!” Andrei said, standing up and slamming a fist into his hand. “Piper, you are a genius.” Roy was eyeing his cousin with apprehension, wondering what he was going to ask of Kesari. “I’ve had an idea – I think it will work – no, I know it will.”

He outlined it and we all listened in silence. At the end of it, I was shaking my head, staring around the room. It was insane, way too risky and if what he suggested didn’t work…

Andrei wanted Kesari to concoct a fast-acting tranquilizer serum laced with the golden bullet. While it wouldn’t heal those poor creatures, it would weaken them. And it might be the key to stopping the Electi. Plus, if any inanis got turned, they could easily be hit and thus not be a threat to anyone, especially themselves or their family.

“We wouldn’t be able to test it until this coming Sunday,” Kesari said dubiously. “We could hurt an innocent person…”

A wolfish smile spread across Andrei’s face as he walked over and stood next to Piper. Tulila was on his hip, biting her fists. “Untrue. We have hybrids in holding.”

“Hybrids, yes, but not Electi!” Kesari said, sounding agitated. “The one from Boston died a few weeks after – her form was unstable and too degraded for me to makes heads or tails of it. So, I have no idea what their genetic makeup looks like. By all accounts, we got lucky she went down!”

“Hm,” Dez said slowly, thinking out loud. “Well, wait, Kes. Frost needs time to create Electi, right? This means she could only create hybrids on Sunday. Think about it,” Dez said. Everyone looked at him and he handed Leo to Soraya. Standing up, he stretched and walked over to the window. “In order to stabilize those creatures, Frost had to find a fairly unique combination of genes. You, Soraya, and Roy have faced one. I saw the other. Even those were unstable. Mine avoided the light and yours was, well, a bit odd… But Kesari, you stopped it.”

Kesari made a face. “Yes, well, I had a powerful tranquilizer, but… Hm, there are only the six. Maybe…” She trailed off, thinking hard. “I’d have to get to the lab in order to do what Andrei’s asking.” Kalea started to fuss and I bounced her on my knee.

“Isn’t your lab in San Francisco?" I asked as Piper came over to take the twins.

“Yes, but I have a kind of makeshift one here, with duplications of all the research.” Her face became troubled. “Only problem is that it is at HQ.”

“Right, we’re going to have to split up,” Andrei said tersely. “Roy and I will go with Kesari. Baltsaros and Soraya will go with Talori. Enele, you’ll have to tail Mirois, you’re the only one here who can pull that off.”

Enele, who hadn’t said much, glanced at Andrei and nodded.

“What about me?” Kai asked, sounding surly.

“You and Dez will stay here with Piper, Faye, Isla and my sister. The babies, too,” Andrei said, clearly not in the mood for an argument or questions.

Kai opened his mouth to argue but Piper intervened, holding both of her twins with ease. "Andrei is right. This is the best plan we have for right now because right now we need information. And then we'll adjust accordingly."

Dez spoke up. “We still need to talk about whether we should alter or cancel that order.”

“I’d say alter if we can – tell families to get out of LA and somewhere safe… just in case,” Soraya said. “So much the better if we don’t have that to worry about.”

There was a murmur of assent for altering it. As discussions as to how to stop the TLO swirled, my head began to pound and I sat back, eyes drooping closed.

Someone patted my knee and I opened my eyes onto Svetlana. She gave me a worried smile, then looked out at the chattering room. “I think we should have some dinner,” she said loudly.

Andrei jumped, looking at me and starting guiltily. “What time is it?”

“Almost four,” Balt said and headed for the kitchen. “Sounds good. I’ll order something.”

Soraya looked over at me. “Where are you going to go tonight?”

“I’m not sure,” I said tiredly, struggling to sit up.

“Come on,” Soraya said, standing up and offering me her hand. “Come with me.”

We left the living room and headed upstairs. The photo bedecked hallways and potted bonsai trees were familiar and comforting to me. As was Soraya’s teenage room, still covered with artsy collages and pictures. I gazed at them as she rummaged in her closet.

“I’ve got some clothes here, hon,” she said. “You take a shower, a nap and get changed.”

“What?” I protested. “I couldn’t.”

“The food won’t get here for an hour, Faye. You’re exhausted. Rest and let us take care of you.” Suddenly Soraya embraced me in a tight hug. “You’ve been through enough.”

“I agree,” said a voice from the doorway and we turned to see Andrei there.

“I don’t remember inviting you up,” Soraya shot at him. “But thank you.”

I looked between them, knowing I’d never win this argument.

“Fine,” I muttered.

But at the same time, as they left, I kind of appreciated them ganging up on me.